🇰🇷🇰🇵 South Korea conducts loudspeaker broadcasts at North Korea

South Korea's military said on Friday it had conducted a loudspeaker broadcast campaign directed at North Korea overnight in response to the launch of balloons by Pyongyang carrying trash aimed at the South.

After repeated warnings to stop sending trash, South Korea's military resumed broadcasts using large loudspeakers set up at the border directed at the North, blaring propaganda, world news and K-pop music.

The broadcasts, considered by military officials and activists as an effective form of psychological warfare, were stopped under a peace agreement signed in 2018, which both sides have declared null as tensions rose.

#SouthKorea #NorthKorea

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🇹🇼🇯🇵 Taiwan, Japan coast guards conduct joint rescue drill

The coast guards of Taiwan and Japan have conducted a joint search and rescue drill, with one of the island's vessels recently making a refueling stop in the country, Taiwan authorities said.

Following the previous one in Japan last year, the refueling stop was made as part of the Taiwan coast guard's high seas patrol mission to protect fishing boats. The patrol vessel, which departed from Kaohsiung Port on June 21, is expected to return to Taiwan on August 14, the coast guard said.

The moves may suggest Taipei has been strengthening cooperation with Tokyo despite the lack of official diplomatic ties amid Beijing's increased pressure on the island.

#Taiwan #Japan

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🇫🇷🇵🇭 France and Philippines elevate defense ties with historic air force mission

For the first time, France has included the Philippines in its annual Indo-Pacific air force mission, a move analysts say underscores Paris’ commitment to the region’s security as well as strategic interests in its trade routes and defense markets.

The Philippines’ stopover under the Pegase 24 – a yearly French Air and Space Force mission to the Indo-Pacific – is the latest in a series of moves by Paris to build closer security ties with Manila since the two countries first began talks on enhancing military cooperation in December.

As part of its annual Pegase mission, this year will see a contingent of French aircraft making a stopover at Clark Airbase, located 93km northwest of Manila. Clark was formerly operated by the US military until 1991.

#France #ThePhilippines

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🇺🇸🇰🇵 Trump says he plans to "get along" with North Korean leader

Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to "get along" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if he returns to the White House after winning the presidential election in November.

Trump boasted that when he was previously in office he "got along very well" with Kim and his administration managed to stop the country's missile launches.

"Now North Korea is acting up again, but when we get back, I get along with him. He'd like to see me back too. I think he misses me if you want to know the truth," Trump said, drawing laughs and applause from the crowd.

#USA #NorthKorea

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🇻🇳 Today, July 19, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, passed away. News of his death began to actively spread on the Internet on July 18 - then the Vietnamese media reported that the General Secretary was withdrawing from his duties due to health reasons. His duties are being performed by President To Lam.

Nguyen Phu Trong's tenure will be remembered for several things. Firstly, the economic growth of Vietnam, which was observed even during the coronavirus pandemic.

Secondly, a large-scale anti-corruption campaign. Since 2016, more than 139,000 party members, including 40 members of the Central Committee of the CPV, have been subjected to disciplinary action.

Thirdly, the "bamboo diplomacy" - Nguyen Phu Trong was an active supporter of this concept. It implies that Vietnam's foreign policy should have "strong roots, but flexible branches".

This refers to constructive relations with all players on the international stage, the absence of ideological attitudes in such interaction, and obtaining benefits in accordance with national interests.

▪️It is precisely thanks to the chosen strategy that key global players - US leader Joe Biden in September 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping in December 2023, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024 - visited Hanoi in less than a year. By not choosing sides and balancing between these countries, Vietnam is and will continue to receive political and economic advantages.

Regardless of who takes the position of General Secretary in the future, significant changes in Vietnam's foreign policy are not expected. Although the concept of bamboo diplomacy was formalized under Nguyen Phu Trong, a similar approach to international relations has been observed in Vietnam for a long time.
#Vietnam
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🇺🇸🇵🇭 US to support Philippines' efforts to resupply ship on atoll

The United States "will do what is necessary" to see that the Philippines is able to resupply a ship on the Second Thomas Shoal that Manila uses to reinforce its claims to the atoll, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday.

Sullivan said the US would prefer that the Philippines conducts the resupplies of the small crew on the warship Sierra Madre, which Manila beached in 1999 to reinforce maritime claims in the South China Sea contested by China.

Speaking to the Aspen Security Forum conference in Colorado, Sullivan said the United States has made clear to China that its mutual defense treaty with the Philippines applies to the Sierra Madre.

#USA #ThePhilippines

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🇯🇵🇨🇳 Japan expands continental shelf eastward for rare metals research

Japan extended its designation of its continental shelf to the eastern part of islands some 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo, enabling the resource-poor country to start research on extracting maritime natural resources such as rare metals from the region.

A revised Cabinet order took effect designating a significant portion of the Ogasawara Plateau sea area as part of its continental shelf, an area of around 120,000 square kilometers. Its move to enlarge the shelf has triggered opposition from China.

The government said it has confirmed the existence of a cobalt-rich crust, including rare metals, in the region. Cobalt is a metal that is used for electric vehicle batteries.

#Japan #China

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🇺🇸🇻🇺 US opens embassy in Vanuatu, latest step in China competition

The United States opened an embassy in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, the latest US move in a long-running competition with China for influence in the Asia Pacific region.

"The opening of the embassy builds upon our efforts to provide more diplomatic presence throughout the region and to engage further with our Pacific neighbors," the US Department of State said in a statement.

The U.S. earlier opened embassies in two other island nations, Solomon Islands and Tonga, and plans to open one more in Kiribati. Washington has been working to boost its diplomatic presence in the Pacific to counter what it sees as a growing threat from China.

#USA #Vanuatu

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🇺🇸🇯🇵 US-Japan Patriot missile production plan hits Boeing component roadblock

A US plan to use Japanese factories to boost production of Patriot air defense missiles - used by Ukraine - is being delayed by a shortage of a critical component manufactured by Boeing.

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) already makes about 30 PAC-3 missiles each year under license from defense contractor Lockheed Martin and can increase that number to about 60.

But no expansion at all will be possible in Japan without additional supplies of the missiles' seekers. "It could take several years before MHI is able to raise output" because of the shortage.

Even if enough seekers are available, expanding annual PAC-3 production in Japan beyond 60 would require MHI to build more capacity.

#USA #Japan

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🇪🇺🇨🇳 China-EU ties looking rocky after hawkish von der Leyen re-elected

China’s relations with Europe face another rocky five years after hawkish German politician Ursula von der Leyen secured another term at the helm of the European Commission, vowing to persevere with her tough policies towards Beijing.

While many policies are set in national capitals, the commission has decision-making powers for trade and competition – two of the most contentious components of the EU-China relationship. “The more aggressive posture and unfair economic competition from China, its ‘no-limits’ friendship with Russia reflect a shift from cooperation to competition,” her manifesto read.

“This includes our collective efforts to deploy the full range of our combined statecraft to deter China from unilaterally changing the status quo by military means, particularly over Taiwan,” it said. It promoted the ideas of geoeconomics and economic security, pledging to continue “de-risking rather than decoupling” with China.

#EU #China

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🇰🇵🇰🇷 South Korea responds to North's trash balloons with loudspeaker broadcasts

North Korea on Sunday floated balloons carrying trash towards South Korea, South Korea's military said, declaring it would respond with "full-scale" loudspeaker broadcasts.

The South Korean military said the North's actions raising tensions near the heavily armed border could have fatal consequences, adding the North Korean regime would be solely responsible.

"As we warned several times, the military will carry out loudspeaker broadcasts in full scale and on all fronts starting 1 p.m. today," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, calling the North's launch of balloons vulgar and shameful.

#NorthKorea #SouthKorea

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🇻🇳 Vietnam to hold state funeral for late communist party leader Trong next week

Vietnam will hold a state funeral next week for Nguyen Phu Trong, the leader of its ruling Communist Party who died on Friday.

There will be two days of national mourning on July 25-26, a government statement said, with the state funeral on the second day. During the mourning period there will be no public entertainment, and flags at offices and other public places will fly at half-mast, it said.

The government statement called Trong's death a huge loss to the party, the state, the Vietnamese people and his family.

#Vietnam

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🇺🇸🇯🇵🇦🇺🇮🇳 Quad nations to oppose South China Sea militarization in Tokyo talks

The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States, Australia and India are expected to express opposition to the militarization of the South China Sea when they meet in Tokyo later this month.

The ministers from the four-way grouping, known as the Quad, are also expected to agree to establish a dialogue framework involving law experts as part of efforts to maintain and reinforce the maritime rules-based order.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar are expected to attend the gathering scheduled for July 29.

#USA #Japan #Australia #India

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🇺🇸🇨🇳 Trump says China’s Xi wrote him a ‘beautiful note’ after assassination attempt

Former US President Donald Trump said that Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote him a note after the Republican presidential nominee suffered a gunshot wound to his ear during an assassination attempt last week.

“[Xi] wrote me a beautiful note the other day when he heard about what happened,” Trump told a crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in his first campaign rally since escaping the July 13 assassination attempt.

Trump mentioned Xi’s letter while discussing his economic policy toward China during his presidency, adding: “I got along very well with President Xi.”

#USA #China

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🇯🇵🌏 Japan talks with Pacific islands focus on climate, security issues take back seat

Japanese and Pacific island leaders largely focused on climate change at their recent meeting even though Tokyo was keen to discuss security cooperation amid China’s growing military and economic influence in the region.

The environmental problem was a “major priority” for Pacific island nations while Japan was setting its sights on boosting security initiatives in partnership with its allies, according to observers.

The 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting was attended by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and representatives from 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), a regional body that also includes Australia and New Zealand.

Kishida said Japan would work with its Pacific counterparts over the next three years in areas including climate change, economic development, disaster resilience and decarbonisation.

#Japan #Oceania

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🇨🇳 China could attack Starlink-like satellites with laser-armed submarine

Chinese submarines armed with lasers could take out SpaceX’s Starlink satellites if China’s security was at risk, according to a study by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) scientists.

In the study, a submarine with a megawatt-class, solid-state, laser weapon installed in its midsection could stay submerged while it raised a retractable, “optoelectronic mast” to fire at satellites, before diving back down to depth.

This type of laser attack submarine could be mass-produced in the future and deployed in various oceans to counter military threats to China, said the project team led by Wang Dan, a professor with the Naval Submarine Academy.

#China

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🇵🇭🇨🇳 China, Philippines agree on 'provisional arrangement' for South China Sea resupply missions

The Philippines and China have "reached an understanding on the provisional arrangement" for resupply missions to a beached Filipino naval ship in the South China Sea, Manila's foreign ministry said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) did not provide details on the arrangement for the Philippines' resupply missions to the Sierra Madre on the Second Thomas Shoal.

"Both sides continue to recognize the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation and agree that the agreement will not prejudice each other’s positions in the South China Sea," the DFA said.

#ThePhilippines #China

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🇵🇭🇨🇦🇫🇷🇳🇿 Philippines' eyes defense pacts with France, Canada and New Zealand

The Philippines is looking to forge reciprocal troops access agreements with Canada, France, New Zealand, and other countries, the defense minister said on Monday.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told ANC news channel he hoped the agreements could be signed next year.

The agreements would allow greater interoperability, as armed forces of these countries can operate within the Philippine territory and vice-versa, Teodoro said. "It is close to the apex of a defensive alliance," he said.

#ThePhilippines #Canada #France #NewZealand

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